Reinforcing rod spacing means used in paving



REINFORCING ROD SPACING MEANS USED IN PAVING y 1967 A. DEVYEREAUX 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Aden N. Devereoux ATTORNEY y 4, 1967 A. N. DEVEREAUX3,329,073

REINFORCING ROD SPACING MEANS USED IN PAVING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July2, 1965 INVENTOR Aden N. Devereaux ATTORNEY United States Patent3,329,073 REINFORCING ROD SPACING MEANS USED IN PAVING Aden N.Devereaux, Lake Charles, La., assignor to Bi-Co Pavers, Inc., Dallas,Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed July 2, 1965, Ser. No. 469,223 8Claims. (Cl. 94-39) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE It is, therefore, aprimary object of the invention to provide means for supporting andaccurately spacing transverse reinforcing rods with reference tolongitudinal reinforcing rods employed in paving.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improvement in alongitudinal reinforcing rod lifting machine comprised of a plurality oftransversely aligned spacer members engageable with transversereinforcing rods, Which aligned spacer members are mounted on rotatableconveyor members carried on a floating frame attached to the machine,and which conveyor members are rotated by the transverse reinforcingrods in engagement with the spacer members by the forward movement ofthe machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for maintainingtransverse reinforcing rods in contact with 1 longitudinal reinforcingrods while they are being tied.

upwardly to urge the transverse reinforcing rods against p thelongitudinal reinforcing rods. The transverse reinforcing rods areprogressively tied to the longitudinal reinforcing rods as the machinemoves forward and the force exerted between the transverse rods and thelugs rotates the chains. The sprockets about which one end of the chainsare mounted are afiixed to a common shaft to keep the lugs in alignment.

It has been the practice in the past to lay longitudinal reinforcingrods out on the road bed prior topaving. In order to attach transversereinforcing rods at spaced intervals to the longitudinal rods it hasbeen the practice to. lift the longitudinal rods from the road bed by amachine pulled therealong which has spaced, transversely aligned,grooved idler wheels thereon over which the longitudinal reinforcementrods pass as the lifting machine is pulled along the road bed. As thelifting machine is pulled along the road bed to lift the longitudinalreinforcing rods above same, the transverse reinforcing rods have beenpicked up from a transverse trough on the machine manually and tied tothe longitudinal rods. In the practice of such procedure, the transverserods, had to be supported manually while being tied to the longitudinalrods, which was a cumbersome procedure, 7

and the spacing thereof was a matter of guess.

As a result such procedure required excessive manpower and time in thatextra laborers were required to hold the rods in place while they werebeing tied by others, and the lifting machine often had to be stoppedwhile the transverse rods were being tied in place.

The present invention provides a plurality of floating supports for thetransverse reinforcing rods, which include chain conveyed transverselyaligned spacer lugs thereon, which assures that the transversereinforcing rods are not only supported for tying to the longitudinalreinforcing rods, but assures that the transverse reinforcing rods willbe accurately spaced when tied to the longitudinal reinforcing rods.

Such improvement also permits the transverse remforcing rods to bequickly positioned in contacting relationship with the longitudinalreinforcing rods and quickly tied thereto without the necessity ofholding same manually in contact and in aligned relationship, therebyreducing the amount of labor required and the time consumed in attachingthe transverse reinforcing rods, so that the transverse reinforcing rodsmay be attached to the longitudinal reinforcing rods as the liftingmachine progressively moves forward, and without stopping orinterruption.

A general object of the invention is to provide means for spacing andattaching transverse reinforcing rods to longitudinal reinforcing rodswhich results in a saving of labor and time.

Other and further objects of the invention, in addition to theforegoing, will become obvious in view of the detailed descriptionhereinafter following and by reference to the drawings annexed hereto.

A suitable embodiment of the invention is shown in the attached drawingswherein,

FIGURE I is a semi-diagrammatic sketch of a longitudinal rod liftingmachine being towed along a road bed to which is attached one of thefloating transverse reinforcing rod support and spacer frames,constituting the subject matter of this invention; FIGURE II is afragmentary perspective view of a 1ongitudinal reinforcing rod liftingmachine to which is attached a plurality of floating support and spacerframes for the transverse reinforcing rods;

FIGURE III is a side elevational view of one of the transversereinforcing rod support and spacer frames attached to a longitudinalspacer rod lifting machine;

FIGURE IV is a top plan view of one of the transverse reinforcing rodsupport and spacer frames attached to a reinforcing rod lifting machine;

FIGURE V is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VV of FIGUREIII.

Numeral references are employed to indicate the various parts shown inthe drawings and like numerals indicate like parts throughout thevarious figures of the drawmgs.

Referring first to FIGURE I, the numeral 1 indicates spaced longitudinalside frames for the longitudinal reinforcing rod lifting machine, whichare tied together by the end cross braces 4 and 5 and a central crossbrace 1a.

Spaced wheel supports 2 and 3 are provided at the corners of the .frame,said wheel supports 2 and 3 having flanged wheels 6 and 7 rotatably.supported thereon which are arranged to engage and run along the sideforms 8 positioned at each edge of the road bed between which concreteis to be poured for paving .the road bed.

Spaced, transversely aligned, grooved idler wheels 14 are rotatablysupported on the frame of the machine, and are in position to receivespaced longitudinal reinforcing rods 11, which have been previously laidout on the road bed, in order to lift the longitudinal reinforcing rods11 vertically of the road bed as the machine is towed along the road bedin the direction of the arrow in FIGURE I so as to place thelongitudinal reinforcing rods in position whereby transverse reinforcingrods can be tied to the longitudinal reinforcing rods in spacedrelationship therealong.

The transverse reinforcing rod trough 12 is provided, which extendsbetween, and is secured to, the side frame Patented July 4, 1967 members1, or may be otherwise supported by the frame of the machine.

A plurality of floating transverse reinforcing rod support and spacermembers 13 (described in detail hereinafter) are attached in spacedrelationship to the rod trough 12.

The typical longitudinal reinforcing rod supporting idler rollers 14,are shown in detail in FIGURE II. The idler rollers 14, as shown, areattached in spaced relationship on the support shaft 15. The shaft 15 isrotatable in bearings provided in the support blocks 16 which aresecured to the side of the rod trough 12. The ends of the shaft 15 arerotatably supported in bearings (not shown) which may either be attachedto the face of the rod trough 12 or to the side frames 1.

The other series of idler rollers 9 may be secured in any suitablemanner in rotative relationship to the frame, the means of mountingshown in FIGURE II being merely illustrative of a suitable form ofmounting for said rollers Inasmuch as all of the rod support and spacerframe-s 13 are constructed and mounted exactly alike, a description ofone of said frames 13 will suffice for all. Said description is setforth below.

The typical floating frame 13 includes a lower support beam 17 which ispivotaly supported between the vertical 'brackets 18 and 19 by a pivotbolt 20. The brackets 18 and 19 are secured to the face of the rodtrough 12 in a position to extend therebelow.

A mounting bracket 21 is secured to the opposite face of the rod trough12 and extends outwardly therefrom. A spring support pin 22 is attachedat its upper end to .the bracket 21 by means of nuts 21a threadedlyengaged to the pin 22 on opposite sides of the bracket 21. The pin 22slidably extends through a hole through the beam 17.

A coil spring 23 is disposed between a spring stop 23a secured to theshaft 22 and the upper face of the lower support beam 17.

A frame 24, which coinsists of spaced plate members (see FIGURE IV), hasend supports 25 secured to the inner end thereof, said end supports 25having cut-out areas 32 therein providing attachment extensions 25athereon which are pivotally secured to the mounting brackets 18 and 19by means of a pivot bolt 26.

Rear support plates 27 are secured to the outer ends of the side frames24, and are arranged to rotatably support the outer sprocket 33 on theaxle 33a in the manner hereinafter described.

The inner sprockets 28 are secured to a shaft 30 which extendstransversely of the machine, and is rotatably mounted in bearing blocks31 secured to the end supports 25 on angle plates 31a, welded to theouter faces of the end supports 25. The inner sprockets 28 of each ofthe support and spacer frames 13 is secured to the shaft 30 to rotatetherewith.

The cut-out areas 32 in the support plates 25 provide space for themounting of the inner sprockets 28 when assembled on the rod 30, and topermit the shaft 30 to pass through the plates.

The outer sprocket 33 is adjustably mounted with reference to the endplates 27 by means of the longitudinal adjustment slots 34 through saidplates in which the axle 33a may be longitudinally adjusted to adjustthe tension of the chain 40 and may be secured in adjusted relationshipby the nuts 33b on the threaded ends of the axle 33a.

A cross support 35 is secured to the upper surface of the lower supportbeam 17.

The support pins 36 are secured at their upper ends to the side frames24 by welding 37.

Each of the support pins 36 has a stop plate 38 secured thereto arrangedto engage the upper surface of the lower support beam 17 The lower ends36a of the pins 36, below the stop plate 38, slidably extend throughpassages 39 provided through the cross member 35, so that the ends 36aof the pins 36 are free to move up and down in said passages and thestop plates 38 limit the relative vertical movement between the lowersupport beam 17 and the pins 36.

A conveyor chain 40 extends about the sprockets 28 and 33 and isarranged to rotate said sprockets in the manner hereinafter described.

A plurality of lugs 41 are secured in spaced relationship on the outersurface of the chain 40 so as to extend outwardly thereof. The lugs 41provide the spacing between the transverse reinforcing rods 42 in themanner hereinafter described.

The operation and function of the device he-reinbefore described is asfollows:

The rod lifting machine is placed upon the side forms 8 and the spacedlongitudinal reinforcing rods 11 (which have already been laid out onthe road bed) are placed over the spaced idler rollers 9 and 10 with thelongitudinal rods disposed in the grooves of the idler rollers so thatas the machine is pulled forward the idler rollers 14 will rollunderneath the longitudinal reinforcement rods 11 and lift them off theroad bed.

Before the machine is started forward, a transverse reinforcing rod 42is placed against aligned lugs 41 at the inner end of frame 13 and tiedto longitudinal rods 11 by tie wires 43 so that forward movement of themachine wil cause rods 42 to rotate chains 40.

As the machine slowly moves forward, the workmen, who normally ride onthe frame of the machine behind the rod trough 12, will pick upindividual transverse reinforcing rods 43 and place them behind alignedlugs 41 on frames 13. The rods are thus accurately spaced andtransversely aligned with reference to the longitudinal reinforcing rods11.

In placing the transverse reinforcing rods 42 on the conveyor chains 40adjacent the aligned spacer members 41, it will be necessary to forcethe longitudinal rods 11 upwardly as the transverse reinforcing rod ispassed between same and the conveyor chains 40.

As the machine continues to move forward, as shown by arrows in FIGURESI, II and III, the transverse reinforcing rods 42 are tied to thelongitudinal reinforcing rods 11 by the tie wires 43 which anchors thetransverse reinforcing rod 42 with reference to the longitudinalreinforcing rods 11 and the force exterted therethrough to the lugs 41causes the conveyor chain 40 to rotate. The lugs 41 separate from thetransverse reinforcing rod when said lugs rotate about the outersprockets 33, leaving the transverse reinforcing rod secured to thelongitudinal reinforcing rods in spaced relationship for deposit on theroad bed as the machine passes from under the reinforcing rods.

It will be noted that the spring 23 resiliently urges the outer end ofthe bottom support beam 17 downwardly about the pivot point 20 toresiliently urge the frame 24 upwardly through rods 36 about the ivotpoint 26. Thereby the frame member 13 is resiliently urged upwardlytoward the longitudinal reinforcing rods 11 to assure that there will becontact between the longitudinal reinforcing rods 11 and the transversereinforcing rod 42 when the transverse rod is placed behind transverselyaligned lugs 41, regardless of irregularities in the terrain orirregularities in the curvature of the longitudinal reinforcing rods 11.Thereby the longitudinal and transverse reinforcing rods may be easilytied together.

A slidable joint is provided by the rods 36 and passages 39, which islimited by stop 38 between the rod 36 and the beam 17, so that the frame24 may move upwardly, or float, with reference to the base support 17 toallow same to conform to the longitudinal rods 11.

Thus, the transversely aligned lugs 41 provide an index for spacing thetransverse reinforcing rods 42, the conveyor chains 40 provide a supportfor such rods and the resilient floating mountings for the frame 13urges the transverse reinforcing rods into Contact with the longitudinalreinforcing rods as they are tied together, and the connectedreinforcing rods provide motive power for rotating the conveyor chainsfor the spacer lugs.

It will be understood that other and further embodiments of'my inventionmay be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. In a rod machine for attaching transverse reinforcing rods tolongitudinal reinforcing rods, said machine having a transverse rodtrough and spaced idler rollers for lifting and guiding longitudinalreinforcing rods over the trough, a plurality of conveyor framespivotally attached to the rod trough on the opposite side thereof fromthe idler rollers; spaced sprockets mounted on the frames; a conveyorchain extending about the sprockets, spaced laterally aligned lugs onthe outer surface of the chains; and means arranged to resiliently urgethe frames upwardly.

2. The combination called for in claim 1 wherein the means toresiliently urge the frame upwardly comprises a beam pivotally carriedby the transverse rod trough intermediate its ends; spring means betweenone end of the beam and the rod trough to urge said end downwardly; andmeans connecting the other end of the beam and the frame to urge theframe upwardly.

3. The combination called for in claim 2 wherein the means connectingthe other end of the beam and the frame is a rod secured at its upperend to the frame and being slida'bly connected to the beam; and means onthe rod to limit relative movement of the beam and the rod.

4. The combination called for in claim 1 with the addition of means toadjust the spacing of the sprockets and thereby the tension of thechain.

5. The combination called for in claim 1 wherein the inner sprockets onthe plurality of frames are connected by a common axle extendingtherethrough.

6. In a machine for attaching transverse reinforcing rods tolongitudinal reinforcing rods, said machine including a transverse rodreceptacle, and spaced idler rollers for lifting and guidinglongitudinal reinforcing rods over the receptacle; a plurality ofspaced, parallel longitudinally extending rod supporting framesextending rearwardly of the receptacle; means for pivotally mounting theinner end-s of the frames with reference to the receptacle; a pluralityof transversely aligned sprockets rotatably mounted at the inner ends ofthe frames; a plurality of laterally aligned sprockets rotatably mountedat the outer ends of the frames; a chain extending about the sprocketson each frame; and spaced laterally aligned lugs on the outer surface ofthe chains.

7. The combination called for in claim 6 with the addition of springmeans to urge the outer ends of the frames upwardly.

8. The combination called for in claim 6 wherein the inner sprockets areconnected by a common axle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,389,773 11/1945 Golden 94392,996,963 8/1961 Stultz et al. 94-39 3,083,621 4/1963 Woolley et al.94-39 3,262,376 7/1966 Heltzel 9439 FOREIGN PATENTS 766,773 1/1957 GreatBritain.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A ROD MACHINE FOR ATTACHING TRANSVERSE REINFORCING RODS TOLONGITUDINAL REINFORCING RODS, SAID MA CHINE HAVING A TRANSVERSE RODTROUGH AND SPACED IDLER ROLLERS FOR LIFTING AND GUIDING LONGITUDINALREINFORCING RODS OVER THE TROUGH, A PLURALITY OF CONVEYOR FRAMESPIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO THE ROD TROUGH ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF FROMTHE IDLER ROLLERS; SPACED SPROCKETS MOUNTED ON THE FRAMES; A CONVEYORCHAIN EXTENDING ABOUT THE SPROCKETS, SPACED LATERALLY ALIGNED LUGS ONTHE OUTER SURFACE OF THE CHAINS; AND MEANS ARRANGED TO RESILIENTLY URGETHE FRAMES UPWARDLY.